Club F3 2007

[Suze]

Yes I know he's South African but certainly with the Vee guys he's known as Pete the Greek due to his surname... Last I heard from him he was on a beach somewhere in Greece too!

I wasn't sure if he'd sold the car or not, hadn't been aware of him competing since Silverstone last year but prob missed loads.

[brakedisc]

Thanks guys. I read the race report and wondered "where have all the cars gone?" Hope there are more cars out at Pembery.

[Jon Gray]

Originally Posted by driftwood

You can select false neutral
ratios more expensive to buy
6 speed gearbox not 5
5 speed is easier to work on

eeer...........I don't think so I have a Dallara304 with a six speed sequential gear box.......

False neutral ok it’s possible but only if you take your hand of the steering wheel push the lever forward on the left hand side and push the gear lever forward on the right hand side ……….it’s a bit like riding a bike with no hands fine coming into the pit lane but going into lodge I don’t think so.

oh and if you did do it there is also a big LED lamp on the dash just to remind you as well........

Ratios more expensive ……….I brought all mine second hand from a F3 team and yet again they where quite cheep as Hewland brought out new ones that are a little lighter so there is loads of good second hand ones available.

Being a bit of a dab hand at changing ratios the sequential box is ten times easier than the normal MK9 or FT200 one casing to remove no split pins and you simply slide of the ratios and change them nothing to line up and no more locating fantastic……..

[Jon Gray]

Oh and for the record I don’t normally let this one slip my wife changes the ratios on the car and she also finds the FTR box easier…………….but don’t tell anyone.......

[brakedisc]

Another poor turnout at Pembrey I see. I also noticed that John Miller is selling the Ford engined F304 that they were building. What is the problem with the formula.

[JohnMiller]

Well there were 15 cars entered but two withdrew on Friday due to a smash and a blown engine. Another didn't make it because he's waiting for a part.

Another has his engine in bits and will be out either at Rockingham or Angelsey.

And another had engine problems at Oulton and should be back soon.

And one more has switched teams and thus missed Pembrey.

Of the drivers who did race, two were making their debuts, having spent money on cars.

So could always be better, but still plenty going on.

Having seen plenty of dull as ditchwater ARP F3 races, the Oulton race and the first Pembrey race were very exciting to watch, even with the modest grids.

And I'm selling that car as I just haven't got the time, and if I find the time I have actually got another one anyway. (The F304-Swindon will be the quickest car in it no doubt!)

[driftwood]

not that poor 13 cars entered 1 had engine blow
last year grids where 12-17 cars
4 more guys will be racing in the season when commitments permit
1 is having his engine rebuilt as we speak
ray rowan is driving paul knapton reynard 913 maybe they share the races in the season
2 or drivers turned up at pembrey that did do R1/2 at oulton
just need to get them all at 1 meeting
maybe you can offer to buy the beers then they will flock!

[brakedisc]

Not convinced. I waited to see how things developed but have now sold my F304.

[Bob Pearson]

For a formula that was struggling last year and has recently "changed hands" I would have said that 15 entries for Pembrey ( always unattractive to some people) wasn't a bad turnout.

[Jon Gray]

Why would anyone have a car and wait to see how things develop then sell the car, is it just me or does that sound strange. I could understand if someone came to the series did a couple of races then sold the car at least they give it a go.

Anyway personally yes of course I would like to see a bigger grid and I think we should get 16 plus from Rockingham on I hope.

On a positive note both the Oulton race and also Pembrey went down well with the organisers.

[ff90]

As a newbie this weekend to the Championship, Pembery and to an F3 car (except a go in Johns Grays 5 years ago) I have to say the weekend was very good despite only 5 laps on Friday (starter motor failed) and 10 laps in qualifying (put it on the grass), oh and the rain!! On the whole the racers are a friendly bunch and although I'm sure the organizers would prefer me to run the new spec tyre's no one had any problems in me using a couple of years old ones.
Its easy to kick any series when it’s going through a bit of a hard patch but I would also point out that there was other championships at the meeting with equally small grids if not smaller.
In the last couple of years new people have entered the championship and I do believe that at the next meeting the numbers will be quite respectable. All I would suggest is if you wish to race an F3 car now is a good time, cars are relatively cheap to pick up, the meetings offer a good amount of time in the cars for the effort needed in attending any race meeting and the current organizers are happy to help in any why they can. So rather than kick it try it and have some fun.

[Redracer77]

Originally Posted by brakedisc

Not convinced. I waited to see how things developed but have now sold my F304.

How many cars were you expecting before you came out? Full grids of 32???

Its an attitude like that, that stops championships from developing. If you had raced it would have been 16 cars. That would be a good turn out for a single seater championship that is the top of the cost chain in motorsport.

You only need one or 2 cars to dice with to make a good race so to say 15 cars was not enough to tempt you out is ******** and I hope the guy that buys your car has better sense.

[Jon Gray]

Interesting point why buy a car and not even do one race ?

did you even test the car ?

more to the point who brought the car ?

I have a 304 and there are two others in the championship, so I would be interest in contacting the new owner.

[brakedisc]

Car was bought for National F3. This did not happen so had a look at Club F3. Had a look at this thread and certain posts stuck in my mind.

"This thread is in danger of causing Club F3 more harm than good. I suggest we get back to the benefits of Club F3 and discuss points like FFMygale has raised about types of gearboxes, running costs etc rather than creating a really bad vibe for the Championship with petty comments between you all. I was interested in Club F3 but unless you prove that I will enjoy the weekend then why should I bother and if this thread is anything to go by I will not enjoy the Championship....."

Looked into it further and decided it was not for us. Recent posts confirmed my decision was the right one. I have nothing against the class and appreciate the effort that is put in by the organisers but guys take a look at the quote above before having a go at me. For the benefit of the other F304 owners on here the car went to Bucharest on Sunday.

[driftwood]

Jon Im sure its you and we all know it
not sure if its the way you walk or the fact yr Mrs changes yr gear ratios!
i guess your doing the housework and the cooking when that is happening??

well with these new faces im sure f3 frids will grow & some cars will get fixed and be running soon
i went to exhaust shop today to get silencer made:
so im getting the car done maybe next week it will be running:rofl
there are 2 cars for hire for those that want to have a go
very enjoyable cars to drive and work on

i will enter F3 race when Miller puts his chubby bum into his car and fills out entry form & i will gladly give him the stamp for the envelope

[JohnMiller]

LOL. Maybe Silverstone. Please send stamp just in case.

[driftwood]

a book of stamps in the post

[Jon Gray]

brakedisc………….well I am sorry you think the series is unfriendly but I can assure you it is, all the competitors that race in the series are a good bunch of people. We often help each other out like most club championships at Pembrey the weekend Chris Neadham damaged his front wing and nose box in testing and used my spares.

If you want to know anything about the series then I would ask you to contact the people that actually compete in it. This thread has a lot of negative posts but to be honest most of them are by people that don’t race in the championship.

Driftwood It would be good for you to get out this year I hope you have noticed the change in the regulations regarding noise limit as it has caught a few people out this year. For the record I can cook don’t know about the housework !!

[driftwood]

Jon i will admit ive not seen dba limit please advise ive workd on 108 db spec
ive asked for muffler to be as large as possible
Im sure u look swellin a pinny are u a gordon f'@@n ramsey or a BBQ only chef

I will race if Miller does !!!

[JohnMiller]

Its still 108db but they measure it closer or something.

[Jon Gray]

Our regulations are the same as the blue book now in other words you car needs to be 108db at half a meter.

[maddogf3]

That nice scrutineer stuck his probe right at the end of pipe .never mind half a meter . We passed . We have one of the big boxes I didn’t see them check at Pembrey , were they tested ?
Not having to remove split pins would sell me a Sequential box but we will have to stay with splitpins for the time being
No red flags and a rolling start was interesting

[JohnMiller]

Yeah, except it wasn't a rolling start as such as some drivers totally failed to keep position and dropped right back!

[Jon Gray]

Apparently Pembrey did noise checks on the cars on the circuit we had a problem with one of our cars at Oulton. So we had it checked on Saturday morning in the assembly area.

With the later cars that have the silencer in the side pod it is not such a issue because there is more room for a larger silencer.

I must admit the rolling start was a little strange as it happened I think we could have got away with a normal start but still it’s one of them. Hatchets did have a bit of standing water but I don’t think it caught anyone out.

[driftwood]

measuring at 50 cm form 100 cm makes huge difference